Timberwolves Make History with First-Ever Playoff Sweep: The Rise of Anthony Edwards
How the Minnesota Timberwolves made franchise history with their first playoff sweep, led by rising star Anthony Edwards.
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Would you have ever imagined that the Minnesota Timberwolves are the first Minnesota sports team to sweep a four-game playoff series? Not the Twins whose franchise history goes back about one century. Not the Minnesota Wild in any of their ill-fated playoff runs. Now, had the WNBA had seven-game series during the Maya Moore era, the Lynx certainly would have been first. I’m someone who has followed the Timberwolves for almost 30 years and would not have bet that. Yet, that’s exactly where we are after the Timberwolves beat the Phoenix 122-116 on Sunday night.
Fair or not, this Timberwolves team carried the burden of every Timberwolves team of the last 20 years. Or at least the burden to show that they were different. Jonny Flynn and David Kahn. Kevin Love and Al Jefferson. Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. Jimmy Butler and Tom Thibodeau. This franchise’s past 20 years were largely comprised of shortcomings and false starts.
Edwards Provided Hope When The Timberwolves Had Little
Enter Anthony Edwards, the 2020 no.1 overall pick. The Pandemic made evaluating draft prospects so difficult. Leading up to the draft, Edwards, James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball were all in play to go first overall. Remember, Karl-Anthony Towns had already been in Minnesota for five years and it felt like he was becoming unhappy. Bringing in his buddy D’Angelo Russell probably helped but it felt like the team was stuck. Minnesota made the playoffs in 2018 with 47 wins, but Butler demanded a trade and missed them in 2019 with 36 wins. In 2020, that number dropped to 19.
Towns was the franchise but I always said they needed a guy even better than him to take that next step. I remember voicing this on Twitter and someone asked me “How?” If we consider Towns was an All-NBA player around that time, he was a top-15 player in the league. Getting someone who is top-10 or better would be no small feat. When you factor in the Butler departure and the way he left, morale around this franchise was low. The Timberwolves went 14 years without making the playoffs until 2018 with an older and more expensive roster with little upside. Butler’s leaving ensured that team had no more upside.
The Timberwolves needed Anthony Edwards, a 1A player who demands the ball in the biggest moments and plays with a competitiveness not seen in Target Center since The Big Ticket. Edwards was not the player we just saw averaging 31 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists on .512/.438/.839 shooting in a four-game sweep of the Suns. No, Edwards didn’t even start the first 17 games of his NBA career. He was too raw, especially on defense. I vividly recall Jared Vanderbilt directing him to his spots on the defensive end. However, he was clearly teeming with talent.
Sooner Than Later
No player in team history has had the playoff success as quickly as Edwards. Garnett did not win his first series until 2004 when the team finally gave him proper running mates. That was Garnett’s ninth NBA season. At age 22, he has broken or tied nearly all of Sam Cassell’s playoff scoring records. Edwards’ 40 points on Sunday were the most in team history in a closeout game, too.
Edwards has ascended to not only stardom but a team leader. “It's the first to four, not to three. I promise you it ain't over,” Edwards said after falling behind 3-0 to Denver last spring. “Everyone's counting us out. It ain't over. I promise you.” Edwards delivered a victory in Game 4 but the Nuggets closed the series in five.
This spring, Edwards found his team up 3-0 facing a series-clinching road game in Phoenix. Game 4 was ugly and was the epitome of playoff basketball. The Timberwolves trailed by five at the half and two at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Edwards had just nine points on eight shots in the first half and the team needed him to get going.
Edwards responded with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting in the third quarter and 6-for-7 and 16 points in the fourth. After a horrid start, Edwards stepped up when his team needed him most while defending all of Phoenix’s Big 3 and even turning both ankles stepping on a Suns player. Minnesota overcame a monster Devin Booker game (49 points, five rebounds and six assists) and 33 points for Kevin Durant.
A Once-In-20-Years Team
For a lot of people, the Timberwolves were the Timberwolves. All season they had to prove their legitimacy despite holding on to first place in the West for months. They had to prove that the Suns’ sweep of their season series was not indicative of how this series would go. Hell, I picked Phoenix in six and am glad to have them prove me wrong. This team is for real and their depth, something that would also favor them in a series against Denver, shone in the Phoenix series.
Who knows how far this team can go and how it will end. The team going out sad in the next round if the Nuggets eliminate them feels unlikely. There’s a real feeling that they believe they can beat anyone and compete. Having home-court advantage would be nice, but Jamal Murray is dealing with a calf injury. As good as that team and Nikola Jokic are, that series being a loss is not an inevitability this time. A potential Western Conference Finals matchup with the Mavericks/Clippers/Thunder would be tough but certainly not impossible. The conference is wide open and the Wolves have as good of a chance as anyone.
A Long Time Coming
This team has received strong contributions from the other starters, plus Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid off the bench, but Edwards is the engine that makes this operation go. For years, Garnett’s greatness loomed over this team. He was their history. Yet, Durant had just been drafted when KG played his last game in Minnesota and fans waited more than a decade for another talent and competitor like him (no disrespect to Towns, Love or…you get it). When Edwards had his coming out party against Memphis in the 2021 playoffs, it had been 14 years since Garnett left. Entire careers had come and gone in that time.
With their series victory over the Suns and Edwards’ spectacular play, this team has carved its own unique place in team history. Sure, it’s just one series win but this team has won playoff series in just one previous season. How far they go remains to be seen but for a franchise and fanbase starved for success and something real to cheer for, these Timberwolves are it. It just took 20 years to get here.